1940s
Establishment and Growth
Echols High School, now named Mackenzie High School, is a co-educational Secondary School established in 1946 to provide Secondary Education for the children of persons residing at Mackenzie and in the surrounding districts. Up to 1946 there were no facilities for Secondary Education in the Mackenzie area. Students had to travel to Georgetown by steamer, a distance of approximately 65 miles, to obtain an education beyond Primary School.
In 1945, just after the end of World War II, the resident Public Health Officer Mr. O.D. Cambridge called a meeting of the Parents Teachers Association of the Mackenzie Undenominational School now the Mackenzie Primary School to look into the formation of the town’s first Secondary School. Attending that meeting Were Mr. William Grant, Mr. Sam Blackett, Mr. Dawson Carr, Mr. Charles Gittens, Mr. F. Cheddie, Mr. W. Wright, Mr. William Nedd, Mr. O. D. Cambridge and the lone woman Mrs. Beryl Joseph.
This enterprising group of parents decided that the community should have a High School. The big question was how to acquire an adequate building for this purpose. A small two flat building previously used as a clinic was identified and the group decided to approach Mr. Henry Vance Echols, General Manager of the Demerara Bauxite Company, for permission to use this facility as a school. Permission was then granted.
The official opening day, on Arvida Road (now Republic Avenue), was recorded as November 19, 1946, with the first principal being Mr. E.U. Wilson. Shortly after, he was succeeded by Mr. Eddie Gunraj, who also hailed from the city. The school began with 26 students and two teachers.
Among the founder members of the board for this new school were Mr. William Grant, Mr. O.D. Cambridge, Mr. Dorsett Carr and Mr. Sam Blackett. When the house system was established in 1957, the houses were named after these four men in recognition of their contributions.
Parents initially undertook to employ and pay the teachers but, one year later, DEMBA accepted full responsibility for maintaining Echols High School with 26 children on roll. The company subsidised the teachers’ salaries, and fees were required of students attending the institution. Even though tuition was expected to be paid at the beginning of each term, a special concession was granted to students whose parents or guardians were employed with the industry. School fees as well as payment for text books were deducted in instalments from the employees’ salaries. While a large percentage of the students were children of bauxite workers, the major prerequisite for gaining acceptance was success at the scholarship examination later called the Common Entrance Examination and subsequently the Secondary Schools Entrance Examination.
1950s
Growth and a New Name
Dr. Dennis Craig, later well known as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, took up the principalship in 1952 and, by the time he left Echols, in 1956, the number on register had grown to just under 200. The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building that was near the Recreational Hall (now housing the Linden Museum) was used for general assembly, as the two were among those occupied temporarily by the growing school population.
While the curriculum covered a number of subjects, Science, Art and Physical Education were not taught until 1957, when Mr. D.D. Sim became principal and the programme was reformed. Candidates from Echols no longer took College of Preceptors (CP) or Senior Cambridge examinations but switched to the General Certificate of Education (GCE) ‘O’ Level, from London University and the school became a centre for those tests.
On September 11, 1959, with Sim still in charge, then Minister of Education and Community Development, Mr. Balram Singh Rai formally opened the now renamed Mackenzie High School (MHS) on Purpleheart Street, Mackenzie, where the main building is now located. That structure was built by Sprostons Construction Company to the architectural design of Messrs Mence and Moore. There were five classrooms and three Science Laboratories.
Through a trust deed, in 1959, as well, DEMBA handed over the property and the facilities within, together with the responsibility for policy and administration, to a Board of Trustees appointed by office. They were the Chief Justice of British Guiana, President of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society (RA&CS) of the colony and the Managing Director of DEMBA.
1960 – 1975
Growth, A Levels and LICHAS
Mr. William Ogle replaced Mr. Sim, from England, before Mr. John Cummings succeeded to the principal post in 1965.
Under Mr. Cummings’s administration four new classrooms were added to the building. G.C.E. Advanced level classes were introduced in 1966 and the first batch of “A” level students took that examination with an inaugural pass rate of 100 percent. Prior to the establishment of the “A” level classes, students who qualified to enter the sixth form had to seek admission to Senior Secondary Schools in Georgetown such as Bishop’s High School and Queen’s College to write their “A” levels. Demba offered scholarships to those students who qualified for entry to those schools.
Mr. Cummings died in a tragic accident in November 1971 and Mr. Seigfred Luyken and subsequently Josephus Bakker acted briefly as Principal until Mr. Clifton McDonald took over in September 1972.
During the eleven years of Mr. McDonald’s stewardship the student population increased substantially and as a result there developed a dire need for more classroom space. Fortuitously, the Linden community was at that time desperately in need of an affordable community space for expanding cultural activities. Consequently members of the Mackenzie High School Board, and Gray Dramatic Group decided that a project aimed at satisfying these two needs should be initiated. Led by the then chairman of the Board Mr. Clarence London, Guybau’s Production Co-ordinator, Project “LICHAS” (acronym for Linden Concert Hall and School) was launched on October 17, 1973. Guybau, in keeping with the goals and mission of the Nationalised Company, provided interest free bridging finance. A management team was organised to collect funds for the project over a three year period. LICHAS opened its doors on July 6, 1975. This building, which now houses the lower school (forms 1 to 3) has ten (10) classrooms on the upper level and a concert hall below.
1974 was a watershed year for Mackenzie High School in that Alfie Collins became the first student at this school to be awarded a Guyana Scholarship, based on his performance at the G.C.E. “A” Level Examination. James Kranenburg repeated this feat in 1981 and Nigel Blair in 1985.
1976 – 1985
Establishment and Curriculum Development
In September 1976 Mackenzie High School came fully under government control with the advent of free education and, the board lost much of its power.
The curriculum at M.H.S. has changed over the years. Our allied Arts programme has helped several of our students to develop their potential in the field of Sports. The school has registered outstanding performances in Swimming as well as Track and Field at inter-school, national and international levels.
Vocational subjects such as Food and Nutrition, Clothing and Textiles, Technical Drawing and Agriculture Science have been included in the curriculum. A Home Economics Department was added in December 1979. That year marked another milestone when the school began offering candidates for the Caribbean Examination Council.
1985 – 2020
Mr. Stanley Johnson acted as Principal when McDonald retired in September 1983 and Mrs. Gloria Britton got the appointment in 1985.
Mrs. Janice Gibson took over from Mrs Britton in 1992 and stayed until 2005. Mrs Gibson was the school’s second woman principal and, on her retirement in 2005, had been the longest serving head in the school’s history, with a tenure lasting 13 years.
Mrs Gibson’s successor was her deputy, another female, Mrs. Cheryl McDonald, who retired in 2011. Her Deputy, Mr. Gary Roberts took over from her.
The current principal is Mr Haslyn Small.